Expandable Braided Sleeving

Expandable braided sleeving is very similar to those "Chinese Finger Cuffs" that we've all gotten our fingers stuck in.. Called by many names including Nylon braided sleeving, sheathing, wire mesh, Expando, skuff jacket, snakeskin. When you push the end back, the sleeving expands to go over wires easily, and then when you let go, the sleeving comes back to its original diameter (or the diameter of your wire harness or bundle, whichever is larger).

PET

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) braided sleeving is by far the most widely used expandable braided sleeve in the world. It is commonly referred to as General Purpose (GP). In many cases, sleeving referred to as Nylon is actually polyester. While Nylon monofilaments do provide better abrasion resistance in some cases, it also costs 40-60% more than PET, and is overkill in most applications.

As a generalization, PET performs better in gritty, sandpaper type applications, while the abrasion resistance of Nylon is better in both wet applications, and applications where the abrading substrate is smooth (for example, rubbing against a steel rod).

While the braiding process can be controlled to regulate the expandibility of the final braid, most expandable PET braided sleeving sold today is made in a standard construction that before further processing, varies very little between manufacturers. Standard braids can expand up to 2 times* their nominal size, allowing for easy installation in complex wiring harnesses, and a high degree of flexibility in the size used.

*please refer to the actual sizing guidelines in the table below for expandability of individual sizes